In the milk producing industry maintaining the animals in disease free condition is a primary concern. Mastitis, an inflammation of the mammary gland, usually caused by a bacterial infection, is of particular concern as it can lead to decreased milk productivity, complete loss of milk, and even eventual destruction of the animal.
Despite the enforced sanitation requirements of the milking process, such as providing for cleaning the animals' teats prior to milking, diseases like mastitis can easily spread through an entire herd from a single infected animal. As the infected animal mingles with healthy animals, as while grazing in the field, bacteria may be spread from animal to animal by insects, by contact with grass which has been contaminated by contact with the infected animal, and the like.
While mastitis can be treated with antibiotics and by prophylactic disinfectants and other drugs, before the infected animal can be isolated for treatment thus protecting the remaining animals from contamination, the bacteria usually has spread to healthy animals. Thus, there is a need for a method of preventing healthy livestock from contacting the bacteria from the infected specimens.
The need for prevention of the spread of bacteria is recognized in U.S. Pat. No. 2,604,092 to Brown et al, where bulbous sheaths of flexible elastic material are adhesively secured at the neck to the teats of the cows. The sheaths, however, must be laboriously removed before cleaning the teats and milking and then must be replaced, requiring a substantial investment of time.
Several attempts to provide protective film barriers on the teats have been made. U.S. Pat. No. 3,066,071 to Akers et al teaches a method of coating the teats of cattle with a peelable film of a mixture of polyvinyl acetate and polyvinyl chloride, typically applied from a volatile solvent such as ethyl acetate or as a hot melt. The resulting disadvantages can be significant; the skin of the teat can be irritated by the effects of the solvent or by the heat of the melt composition.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,222,252 to Kraus describes a bovine teat dip consisting of certain fatty acid esters and drying or semi-drying vegetable oils. However, the vegetable oil dips are difficult to remove from the animal's teats with a water wash, and are ineffective in preventing mastitis.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,022,199 to Fetty is directed to a method for mastitis prevention comprising covering the teat with a mucilage gum to form a protective film on the teat.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,113,854 to Andrews teaches a method for preventing mastitis comprising dipping the animals' teats into a composition comprising a film-forming polymer, specifically a synthetic (acrylic) latex, and a water soluble thickening agent, and the composition thereof. However, the dip composition is permanently damaged upon freezing, and cannot be effectively used again after thawing.